J Leman a special’ kind of player – and person

One in a series of stories previewing the 2007 college football season.

Tim Cronin

First off, it’s Jeremy on the birth certificate, not that anyone, even in the family, uses the first name.

Just call him J Leman, no period.

While you’re at it, call him one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten.

A fifth-year senior in graduate school, Leman is probably the only player in the country who lists the apostle Paul as the person he’d most like to spend a day with. The son of Happy and Dianne Leman, founders of the Vineyard Christian Church in Urbana, Leman grew up in church, but he doesn’t wear religion on his sleeve, and he will never thank God or Jesus in a postgame interview.

“People just tune that out,” Leman said.

Thus, most people know Leman only as the guy who prepped at Champaign Central who busts up plays at middle linebacker for Illinois, the guy with the longish hair whose favorite movie is “Rocky IV,” and who wants to be a sportscaster someday.

“He’s a very religious man,” said defensive lineman Chris Norwell, like Leman a fifth-year senior in grad school. “J would give the shirt off his back to someone who needed it in the rain.”

“J’s a special person,” said Ron Zook, his head coach, with a tone of admiration in his voice. “He’s got life figured out. J is J. He’s not pretentious. In today’s age, it’s hard to find guys like that.”

Leman was a national top-100 linebacker in high school, but, perhaps because he was already mere steps from the Illinois campus, was ignored by other schools.

“I had one offer besides Illinois, and that was Illinois State,” Leman said. “So, one Division I-A school. Why so few? I thought about that, but I think I ended up at the place I’m supposed to be.”

The place he most often is on Saturday afternoons is in the middle of the action. Last year, he made 152 tackles, the sixth-highest single-season total in Illinois history, and ran his three-year total to 275. Against Ohio State, he made a career-high 19, and almost single-handedly shut down the Buckeyes’ vaunted offense for a time. It was impossible to take one’s eyes off him.

“I’m a gambler,” Leman said of his style. “It’s in knowing when to take shots. Each play is so unique, dwelling on a great play or a bad play doesn’t help on the next play.”

There were few bad plays for Leman, who tackles crisply and rarely is out of position. But he wants more, and not statistically.

“What eats at me is we haven’t had the success as a team,” Leman said. “Two years ago, when I first played, we didn’t have the talent. I started as a redshirt freshman. And on defense, sometimes we let circumstances dictate to us.

“I often wondered what was happening, and I learned a lot. But you can’t dwell in the past. This is my last year, and a year to make it all right. Finally, this year, we have the tools. We have players. Now, let’s build on it. We’re only going to get better in (coach Zook’s) third year.